Clemmons man in TV war documentary ‘Against the Odds’

Clemmons man in TV war documentary ‘Against the Odds’

Richard Cobb

CLEMMONS, N.C. — After 45 years, Richard Cobb is finally ready to talk about his experience as a Marine Corps squad leader in the Battle of Hue, one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

And Cobb — a Winston-Salem native who now lives in Clemmons — is talking on “Against the Odds,” a new TV series about military service that debuts at 10 p.m. March 3. It will be shown on the American Heroes Channel (261/1261 on Time Warner Cable’s digital tier, 287 on DirecTV, and 195 on Dish Network), which was formerly called the Military Channel.

“I’ve had several requests in the past, throughout the years, for interviews and different things,” Cobb, 64, said. He served in the Marines from 1966 to 1970, followed by two years as a member of the Marine Corps Reserve.

“It’s kind of hard to describe combat unless you’ve actually been in it. If you haven’t been there, you can’t share the experience. … Unless I’m around other guys who have been in combat, or in the Marine Corps, I don’t generally discuss it.”

About 18 months ago, though, he received a call from another Marine who, like himself, had been a squad leader. He had been approached by the filmmakers of “Against the Odds,” who were planning an episode about the struggle to liberate Hue during the Tet Offensive.

“He called me up and asked if I’d be interested in being involved,” Cobb said. “My first response was, not really. … Then I got to thinking about it, and called Chuck Meadows, who had been my company commander during the Battle of Hue.

“He said, ‘We’re not getting any younger, and this is a story that needs to be told.’ That’s what got me involved in ‘Against the Odds.’”

After his military service, Cobb joined the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department and then the U.S. Marshal Service, spending 23 years with the organization, the last 15 in Alaska. He and his wife returned to the Triad about 3½ years ago.